Lamborghini launches lighter, faster and less-polluting Gallardo successor

The Associated Press , Geneva | Tue, 03/04/2008 7:22 PM | Sci-Tech

Italian sports car maker Lamborghini introduced a lighter, faster and -- as the move toward greener cars infects the supersports world -- less-polluting version of its successful Gallardo at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday.

The sleek Gallardo LP560-4 -- low-slung and sleek as a bullet -- weighs 20 kilograms less than the previous Gallardo, and the revamped engine shaved three-tenths of a second off the time it
takes to go from zero to 100 kilometers per hour, now 3.7 seconds.

The new Gallardo also cut carbon emissions by 18 percent from its predecessor.

While sports cars are not known for being particularly green, Lamborghini -- based in its traditional hometown of Sant'Agata Bolognese near Bologna but owned by the Volkswagen group -- has set a long-term target to cut the carbon emissions of its cars by 40 percent.

But CEO Stephan Winkelmann said Lamborghini would seek to improve its emissions standards without sacrificing its core value: speed.

"Being a supersports car is all about accelerating and top speed. If you want to go fast you consume, and if you consume, you have emissions," Winkelmann said. "You will never come to the average emissions of average car. "

Even with the cut, the car still emits 325 grams per kilometer, compared with an average car of 150 to 200 grams per kilometer.

But Winkelmann said that is offset by the fact the average Lamborghini is driven just 5,000 kilometers a year.

The improvements were achieved by working on improving the friction of the mechanized gears, improving the power to weight ratio and engine design -- drawing on technology from the
Volkswagen AG, which acquired Lamborghini in 1998.

Lamborghini is not setting a target for the 40 percent cut, but Winkelmann said they have been working on the issue for some time.

"Let's say if you want to cut emissions, you don't do it by snapping a finger. It is not a process that started a year ago when the discussion started," he said.

Lamborghini has sold 7,100 Gallardos since its launch in 2003. The new model will be priced at US$198,000 in the United States and euro146,000 in Europe when delivery starts in June. It
outsells the more expense and powerful Murcielago by about three- to-one.

Last year, Lamborghini sold 2,400 cars worldwide, up 100 from 2006, and Winkelmann forecasts a jump of another 100 in 2008. He noted that Lamborghini sold about 250 cars a year for the first 40 years of its 45-year history.

The United States and Europe each has a 40 percent market share with the remainder in the rest of the world.

Sales in China tripled in 2007 to 30 vehicles, and Winkelmann expected that to double in 2008. But the market in such emerging countries is stymied by the state of the roads.

"We are a niche of a niche, and our cars are very low to the ground. Many customers are coming up, but it depends on the infrastructure," he said. (****)

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